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(14) as Lord of lords, as holy of holies, as eternal, as being and as cause of the ages; as giver of life, as wisdom, as mind, as word, as knower, as possessing all the treasures of all knowledge, as power, as ruler, as king of kings, as ancient of days, as ageless and unchangeable; as salvation, as righteousness, as sanctification, as redemption, as surpassing all in greatness and as in a gentle breeze; and that He is in souls and in bodies and in minds, in heaven and on earth, and at the same time the same in the same place, within the world, around the world, beyond the world, beyond the heavens, beyond being, sun, star, fire, water, spirit, dew, cloud, stone itself and rock, all things that are, being none of the things that are.

5. Wherefore also the great Dionysius in divine matters, in his work On the Divine Names, testifying by what he writes to the manner and the ecstasy toward God of this divinely inspired father, says the following: Thus therefore to the Cause of all, which is beyond all, both the nameless and all the names of existing things will be applied, that it may be precisely the kingdom of all things and all things may be around it and dependent on it as cause, as beginning, as end, and that it, according to the scripture, may be all things in all, and truly be hymned as the subsistence of all things. And after a little: but it has pre-contained all existing things in itself simply and without limit by the perfect goodnesses of its one and all-causing providence, and it is harmoniously hymned and named from all existing things.

6. And so the theologians do not esteem these divine names alone, those derived from total or partial providences or from the objects of providence, but also sometimes from certain divine visions that shone upon the initiated or the prophets in the sacred sanctuaries or elsewhere, for various and sundry causes and powers they name the super-luminous and super-named goodness, and they attribute to it human or fiery or amber-like forms and types, and they hymn its eyes and ears and hair and faces and hands and back and wings and arms and hinder parts and feet, and they fashion for it crowns and thrones and cups and mixing-bowls and certain other mystical things.

7. For this divine man, having purified his soul to the utmost, as the things already written by him cry out more loudly than a sounding trumpet, has been deemed worthy both of great revelations and of ineffable visions and of mystical conversation and of divine words wondrously sounded to him from above, and, to speak concisely, of apostolic grace, being wholly set on fire by the divine fire. For this reason, although entirely without taste of and unlearned in the external science of letters, he was magnified to the height of wisdom above every orator and wise man in the fluency of his words and the abundance and density of his thoughts, as one truly wise in divine things and a most dogmatic theologian.

8. And no wonder; for the wisdom of God, according to the one who said it, passes and goes through all things by reason of her pureness; for she is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; and being but one, he says, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she makes all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, she makes them friends of God (16) and prophets; for God loves none but him that dwells with wisdom. For this very reason, desiring the words of wisdom, he longed for her beauty; and having longed, according to Solomon, he sought through the labors of both philosophy and asceticism and found her; and having found her, he prayed earnestly with tears and prudence was given to him; and he called upon with firm faith and the spirit of wisdom came upon him; whence he had through his whole life the unsleeping light from her, through which indeed also all the good things of eternal life came upon him together, and an innumerable wealth of wisdom and knowledge. Assuredly, having guilelessly learned the secrets from God, he provides these things to all by writing them down abundantly for both spiritual gladness and benefit;

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(14) ὡς Κύριον κυρίων, ὡς ἅγιον ἁγίων, ὡς αἰώνιον, ὡς ὄντα καί ὡς αἰώνων αἴτιον˙ ὡς ζωῆς χορηγόν, ὡς σοφίαν, ὡς νοῦν, ὡς λόγον, ὡς γνώστην, ὡς προέχοντα πάντας τούς θησαυρούς ἁπάσης γνώσεως, ὡς δύναμιν, ὡς δυνάστην, ὡς βασιλέα βασιλευόντων, ὡς παλαιόν ἡμερῶν, ὡς ἀγήρω καί ἀναλλοίωτον˙ ὡς σωτηρίαν, ὡς δικαιοσύνην, ὡς ἁγιασμόν, ὡς ἀπολύτρωσιν, ὡς ἐν μεγέθει πάντων ὑπερέχοντα καί ὡς ἐν αὔρᾳ λεπτῇ˙ καί ἐν ψυχαῖς καί ἐν σώμασι καί ἐν νοῖς αὐτόν εἶναι ἐν οὐρανῷ καί ἐν γῇ καί ἅμα ἐν ταὐτῷ τόν αὐτόν, ἐγκόσμιον, περικόσμιον, ὑπερκόσμιον, ὑπερουράνιον, ὑπερούσιον, ἥλιον, ἀστέρα, πῦρ, ὕδωρ, πνεῦμα, δρόσον, νεφέλην, αὐτόλιθον καί πέτραν, πάντα τά ὄντα, μηδέν ὄντα τῶν ὄντων.

5. Ὅθεν καί αὐτός ὁ πολύς τά θεῖα ∆ιονύσιος ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων συντάγματι, τῷ τρόπῳ καί τῇ πρός Θεόν ἐκστάσει τοῦ θεσπεσίου τούτου πατρός οἷα δι᾿ ὧν γράφει συμμαρτυρῶν, τοιάδε φησίν˙ οὕτως οὖν τῇ πάντων αἰτίᾳ καί ὑπέρ πάντα οὔσῃ καί τό ἀνώνυμον ἐφαρμόσει καί πάντα τά τῶν ὄντων ὀνόματα, ἵνα ἀκριβῶς ᾗ τῶν ὅλων βασιλεία καί περί αὐτήν ᾖ τά πάντα καί αὐτῆς ὡς αἰτίας, ὡς ἀρχῆς, ὡς πέρατος ἐξηρτημένα, καί αὐτή κατά τό λόγιον ᾗ τά πάντα ἐν πᾶσι καί ἀληθῶς ὑμνῆται πάντων ὑποστάτις. Καί μετ᾿ ὀλίγα˙ πάντα δέ ἁπλῶς καί ἀπεριορίστως ἐν ἑαυτῇ τά ὄντα προείληφε ταῖς παντελέσι τῆς μιᾶς αὐτῆς καί παναιτίου προνοίας ἀγαθότησι καί ἐκ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ἐναρμονίως ὑμνεῖται καί ὀνομάζεται.

6. Καί γοῦν οὐ ταύτας μόνας οἱ θεολόγοι τάς θεωνυμίας πρεσβεύουσι τάς ἀπό τῶν παντελῶν ἤ τῶν μερικῶν προνοιῶν ἤ τῶν προνοουμένων, ἀλλά καί ἀπό τινων ἔσθ᾿ ὅτε θείων φασμάτων ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἀνακτόροις ἤ ἄλλοθί ποι τούς μύστας ἤ τούς προφήτας καταλαμψάντων κατ᾿ ἄλλας καί ἄλλας αἰτίας τε καί δυνάμεις ὀνομάζουσι τήν ὑπερφαῆ καί ὑπερώνυμον ἀγαθότητα καί μορφάς αὐτῇ καί τύπους ἀνθρωπικούς ἤ πυρίνους ἤ ἠλεκτρίνους περιτιθέασι καί ὀφθαλμούς αὐτῆς καί ὦτα καί πλοκάμους καί πρόσωπα καί χεῖρας καί μετάφρενα καί πτερά καί βραχίονας καί ὀπίσθια καί πόδας ὑμνοῦσι, στεφάνους τε καί θώκους καί ποτήρια καί κρατῆρας αὐτῇ καί ἄλλα ἄττα μυστικά περιπλάττουσιν.

7. Εἰς γάρ ἄκρον ὁ θεῖος οὗτος ἐκκαθαρθείς τήν ψυχήν, ὡς ἤδη τά πρός αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένα σάλπιγγος ἠχούσης μεγαλοφωνότερον ἐκβοᾷ, ἠξίωται καί μεγάλων ἀποκαλύψεων καί θεωριῶν ἀπορρήτων καί μυστικῆς ὁμιλίας καί ῥημάτων θείων ἄνωθεν αὐτῷ ξένως ἐνηχηθέντων καί συλλήβδην εἰπεῖν χάριτος ἀποστολικῆς, ὅλος πυρποληθείς ὑπό τοῦ θείου πυρός. ∆ιό καί τῆς θύραθεν ἐπιστήμης τῶν λόγων πάντῃ ἄγευστος καί ἀμαθής ὤν ὑπέρ πάντα ῥήτορα καί σοφόν τῇ εὐροίᾳ τῶν λόγων καί τῇ τῶν νοημάτων δαψιλείᾳ τε καί πυκνότητι εἰς ὕψος ἐμεγαλύνθη σοφίας ὡς τά θεῖα τῷ ὄντι σοφός καί θεολόγος δογματικώτατος.

8. Καί οὐ θαῦμα˙ ἡ γάρ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφία διήκει, κατά τόν εἰπόντα, καί χωρεῖ διά πάντων διά τήν καθαρότητα˙ ἀτμίς γάρ ἐστι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως καί ἀπόρροια τῆς τοῦ παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής˙ μία δέ, φησιν, οὖσα πάντα δύναται καί μένουσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τά πάντα καινίζει καί κατά γενεάς εἰς ψυχάς ὁσίας μεταβαίνουσα φίλους Θεοῦ (16) καί προφήτας κατασκευάζει˙ οὐδέν γάρ ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεός εἰ μή τόν σοφίᾳ συνοικοῦντα. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καί τῶν λόγων τῆς σοφίας ἐπιθυμήσας ἐπόθησε τό κάλλος αὐτῆς˙ καί ποθήσας, κατά τόν Σολομῶντα, ἐζήτησε διά πόνων φιλοσοφίας τε καί ἀσκήσεως καί εὗρεν αὐτήν˙ καί εὑρών ηὔξατο μετά δακρύων ἐμπόνως καί ἐδόθη αὐτῷ φρόνησις˙ καί ἐπεκαλέσατο πίστει βεβαίᾳ καί ἦλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν πνεῦμα σοφίας˙ ὅθεν ἀκοίμητον ἔσχε διά βίου παντός τό ἐκ ταύτης ἀτεχνῶς φέγγος, δι᾿ οὗ ἄρα καί ἦλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν πάντα ὁμοῦ τά ἀγαθά τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς καί ἀναρίθμητος πλοῦτος σοφίας καί γνώσεως. Ἀμέλλει καί ἀδόλως παρά Θεοῦ μαθών τά ἀπόρρητα ἀφθόνως τοῖς πᾶσι ταῦτα γράφων παρέχει εἰς πνευματικήν εὐφροσύνην ὁμοῦ καί ὠφέλειαν˙